Title: Interplay between entrepreneurial characteristics, organisational structure, corporate culture and SME performance: empirical results from Fiji Islands

Authors: Sonal Singh; R.D. Pathak; Himanshu Shee; Azhar Kazmi; David Parker

Addresses: Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia ' The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji ' Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia ' King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia ' UQ Business School, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia

Abstract: This paper demonstrates how entrepreneurial characteristics, organisational structure and corporate culture combine synergistically within an eclectic framework of performance influenced by corporate growth, managements optimism and product diversification in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Fiji Islands. Data analysis and key findings from a survey of 360 respondents indicate that performance of SMEs is neither influenced by the age nor the education level of the entrepreneur but rather their gender and ethnicity. Competitor orientation contributes more to the performance of SMEs than customer orientation. The implications of these findings with respect to SMEs in Fiji are discussed.

Keywords: entrepreneurial characteristics; organisational structure; corporate culture; Fiji Islands; SME performance; SMEs; small and medium-sized enterprises; entrepreneurship; corporate growth; management optimism; product diversification; gender; ethnicity; competitor orientation; firm performance; customer orientation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2013.052076

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2013 Vol.18 No.2, pp.229 - 246

Published online: 30 Sep 2013 *

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